As the top selling passenger car in Canada for 17 straight years, the Honda Civic has not surprisingly given a moniker to the Civic faithful. You see, to be a Civic owner or a fan, you were a part of Civic Nation.
As I looked in my driveway, and as I looked into my emotional automotive preferences it was clear that a member of Civic Nation, I was not.
To be clear, it’s not that I disliked the Honda Civic. I respect them and found them to be practical and decent – but finding them practical and decent does not allow you to have a Civic Nation membership card in your wallet. No, for me to become a Civic Nation member, something needed to change.
Enter the 10th-generation, 2016 Honda Civic sedan.
Photo: Eric Novak
With a far more energetic, aggressive and eye-catching exterior design, the new Civic is a head-turner that gains what previous sedan incarnations of the Civic lacked. While the new design isn’t without risks – for simple designs tend to alienate less – my sense is that the risk will pay off since the compact sedan category is crowded with decent looking vehicles, but short on great looking ones.
According to Honda, the 10th-generation Civic is completely new, and that extends under the hood as well. With the EX-T and Touring trim levels, Honda introduces a new 1.5 litre, 16-valve, direct injection turbo-charged engine – a first for Honda in North America. Putting out 174 horsepower and 162 lb/ft of torque the new turbo power train offers sufficient pep combined with a smaller displacement engine while paired with some pretty impressive fuel economy.
Photo: Eric Novak
Published fuel economy numbers for the 1.5 litre turbo engine according to Honda are 7.6 L/100 KM or 31 US MPG (city), 5.5 L/100 KM or 42.8 US MPG (Hwy) and 6.7 L/100 KM or 35.1 US MPG (combined). I actually found my own driving experience to top the combined number, as I hovered around 6.2 L/100 KM or 38 US MPG over several hundred kilometres of driving, however I would account that likely to the fact that I did more highway driving than would be typical of the normal calculation ratio of 55% City and 45% highway driving. Nonetheless these numbers are among the best you’ll see in this category and are worthy of attention.
The interior of the new Civic has been upgraded and modernized as well. Notably absent in the infotainment aspect of the new Civic is the lack of a CD player. Instead this car is completely in tune with digital music formats such as Apple Car play, Android Auto and Bluetooth. This is something that a person like me, who still remembers spinning 45’s (look that up if you’re scratching your head) will need to get used to, but likely a big plus in its reach to attract a younger, more tech-savvy demographic. Other tech-friendly features include wireless smartphone charging, Siri eyes free compatibility, a 450-Watt, 10-speaker premium sound system and more. I particularly liked the steering-wheel mounted volume control given it’s ability to be adjusted easily by sliding your thumb over it instead of actually depressing the control.
Photo: Honda Canada
While a compact car isn’t typically designed for families, there is sufficient 2nd-row space and legroom for 2 adults comfortably or 3 children. With approximately 15 cubic feet of trunk space, I found it was able to hold 4 suitcases which should decently equate to a decent amount of groceries.
CONCLUSION
The Civic Nation constituency is one that is large and consistent. The flagship model for Honda has done for them what other automakers covet – maintaining both segment and category leading sales figures for multiple generations. With the 2016 Civic making a host of improvements in styling, design and performance, it seems very unlikely that the crowded Civic Nation will get any less so. In fact, as a result of this review it may have finally added a new member – that being yours truly.
BY THE NUMBERS (Out of 10):
LOOK/DESIGN:
EXTERIOR 9.0
INTERIOR 8.5
DRIVE: 8.5
GREEN FACTOR: 9.0
FAMILY FACTOR: 8.0
TECHIE STUFF: 9.0
VALUE: 9.0
(As tested:
$26,990 CDN)
OVERALL: 8.75
Leave a Reply